B'nai Israel Congregation

Start this special day of tikkun olam (repairing the world) with morning minyan at 9:00 AM and special projects beginning at 10:00 AM. There will be grade-specific projects for our Talmud Torah and Day School students, as well as projects for community members of all ages. More information will follow in the Scroll and the Community Connections publications. Contact our chairs if you would like to organize a special project for Mitzvah Day. Online registration begins in October at www.bnaiisraelcong.org/mitzvahday.]

$50 for members; $60 for nonmembers This is a beginner’s course to help you learn to read Hebrew, with a focus on the Hebrew of the siddur, or prayer book. The course will also explore aspects of Israeli history and culture. The registration includes a copy of the textbook, Aleph Isn’t Tough.

We’ll be getting together for lunch, then working together to create care packages for residents of the senior home next to B’nai Israel! We’ll need all hands on deck!

B’nai Israel will be providing a dinner for the 35 residents of the Interfaith Works Women’s Shelter. We need your help in supplying various parts of the meal. The items can be purchased or prepared in your home. They should serve 6 to 8 people and be in disposable pans. There will be various opportunities for drop off of your items.

The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova (1hr., 42 min.; English) On a chilly winter night, estranged siblings Sarah and Aaron Cotler arrive at an empty train station in Dombrova, Poland. With their only available ride being a silent Driver, they embark on a quest to fulfil their dying grandmother's wish -- find, dig up, and bring home the bones of her favorite childhood dog, Peter.

Please RSVP to Mark Berlin (berlin.potomac@gmail.com ) no later than Friday, December 2.

12:00 PM – BYO Dairy Lunch 12:30 PM – Program Celebrate Hanukkah with Hazak followed by our speaker program. Older Americans are expected to be located in places that may be relatively more affected by climate change, including coastal zones and large metropolitan areas. Dan Stillman, Co-founder and Meteorologist, Capital Weather Gang, will enlighten us as to how climate change will affect each of us and what we can do to survive.

7:00 PM (Dinner & Program) How do growing relations—economic, cultural, political and security—between Israel and the Arab states fit into larger developments in the Middle East? Can they form the core of a new, more secure and more prosperous region? What are the prospects for this core to become self-sustaining and to grow, and what challenges will it face? How will they affect U.S. and Western economic and security interests? A retired State Department diplomat and intelligence analyst, accompanied by a journalist and researcher with years of experience in the region, explore the history and prospects of these historic accords. Scott Edelman is a retired State Department diplomat and intelligence analyst whose Middle East assignments included three years as the political officer at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, three years as the State Department advisor to the U.S. 5th Fleet in the Persian Gulf region, and four years as chief intelligence analyst for Turkey and for Iraq.

Each grade leads significant components of our Shabbat Morning Youth & Family Services, demonstrating their mastery of the prayers and offering insights on the weekly Torah portion.